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(No Model.)

- G. A. TURNBULL.

VEHICLE TIRE.

I No. 601,620. Patented Mar 29, 1898;

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UNITED STATES PATE T @EFTQE.

GEORGE A. TURNBULL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF'ONE-HALF TO CALVIN ARTHUR WHYLAND, OF SAME PLACE.

VEHICLE-TIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,620, dated March 29, 1898.

Application filed March 1, 1897. Serial No. 625,604. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. TURNBULL, of Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Im provements in Vehicle-Tires, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improvement in vehicle-tires employing as a constituent part thereof a pneumatic or inflatable tube;

and the object of the invention is to provide a tire of this character which cannot be punctured and which shall present a narrow tread, thus reducing the friction and affording all the advantages of a tire inflated to high pressure, but without the accompanying disadvantages of loss of elasticity.

To this end my invention consists in a cork sole forming a constituent part of the tire, the cork being subjected to a chemical treatment whereby it is rendered elastic or pliable without destroying or impairing its efficiency to resist puncture by hard objects or to sustain the weight of the vehicle and its occupant.

My invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of my improved tire; Fig. 2, a side elevation of two pieces or parts of cork joined together, and Figs. 3 and 4 are end views of said respective pieces.

In the drawings let 5 represent the rim of a vehicle-wheel, and 6 a pneumatic tube, which may be cemented or otherwise secured thereto. This tube hasa longitudinal diaphragm or partition therein, (marked 7 which may be formed by known methods either integrally with or separately from the tube, but which in use will be secured to its side walls. The lower portion of the tube forms a triangular pocket into which is introduced a shoe or sole of cork. (Marked 8.) This cork shoe or sole is made from pieces of solid cork,

. which can be obtained in lengths of five or six inches, but shorter or longer pieces may be used. This cork I treat in the following manner: I take two parts of pure alcohol, one part of pure gum-camphor, and one part of glycerin, by weight, dissolve the camphor in the alcohol, and then add the glycerin. This mixture is heated to about 90 Fahrenheit.

In this heated liquid the cork is immersed for about twelve hours, when it will be found that it will become pliable and can be readily flexed or bent without rupture and will be moist. These characteristics it will retain indefinitely. The pieces of cork, either'before or after treatment, may be brought to the desired shapeor form in cross-section and are preferably joined together by a mortiseand-tenon joint, as indicated at 9 and 10. The mortise is V-shaped in cross-section, as clearly shownin Fig. 4, and the tenon is similarly shaped, as shown in Fig. 3, thus preventing lateral displacement of the sections. Moreover, the parts which form the side walls of the mortise are of unequal length, and the sides of the tenon are cut away in a corresponding manner, so that no two of the plan es of the meeting surfaces of the sections coincide. This joint will prevent lateral movement of the pieces or sections of cork and also interposes a continuous body, which will obviate all danger of puncture from nails or other sharp or hard substances which might enter through the joint if the ends of the pieces were simply abutted.

The peculiar treatment of cork in the manner above described I have termed annealing, as aptly describing the change effected. Cork in the natural state is brittle; but this treatment toughens it, while rendering it pliable and more elastic and resilient. I have found that the said treatment, furthermore,

will enable the cork to withstand greater pressure or weight and that by said treatment the cork sole can be so shaped as to produce a very narrow tread, while its vertical thickness will sustain the tube so far above the surface as to prevent puncture.

I claim A bicycle-tire comprising an inflatable tube having a shoe or sole of cork toughened by immersion in a heated liquid mixture composed of alcohol, camphor and glycerin, substantially as described.

GEORGE A. TURNBULL.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK O. GooDWIN, LoUIs T. MANN. 

